


Nightmare - Fading

by FrostOverlord



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Bunny ends up embarrassing himself, Bunny has a scare, I'm bad at tags, Jack's super understanding, M/M, Pre-Jackrabbit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-02-07 08:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1892691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostOverlord/pseuds/FrostOverlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aster is used to nightmares by now, but with the Easter fiasco over with and Jack having joined the Guardians, a nightmare he hasn't had for nearly a decade resurfaces.</p><p>This time, though, someone is there to help him out.</p><p>One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmare - Fading

_He felt so cold in Aster’s paws- hands; the boy had always corrected him when he said it aloud, he had thumbs so that made them hands. Didn’t matter much right now though, the boy was cold and his eyes were glazed over, gazing blankly at some far off place that Aster could never possibly see no matter how much he tried._

_And he was so_ cold _. The child- no, he was as much a child as Aster was a rabbit- had never been truly_ cold _before, even when he spent hours playing in the snow his pale skin was always at least lukewarm to the touch. His stunning blue eyes, so warm even as they reminded those that looked in them of gentle snowfall, always welcoming others to join in his mischief._

_“Bunny?” the boy’s eyes, so horribly dull and listless now, slowly shifted to try and look at Aster, “Bunny, I’m cold.”_

_It hurt, so much more than Aster would ever willingly admit, to watch events unfold this way. They’d made a horrible mistake, letting him into their fold. He knew it would end in tears from the start, but how could he have told them? Even as he protested against it, they ignored his concerns. Even when he had spelled it out in front of everyone they didn’t understand, didn’t want to_ believe _that the kid had_ no one _. Aster knew though, and it hurt so much to know, to watch the boy fading away in his arms._

 _It shouldn’t (hurt that is), Jack Frost was_ just an expression _after all. Invisible. Might as well not even exist._

 _“I- I know, Jackie.” Aster was choking on his own words, some invisible, intangible knife stabbing into the void where his heart should be and twisting without mercy. His eyes felt like they were trying to hold back tears. (Could he even cry? It had been so long he wasn’t sure anymore.) Aster swallowed back the part of him that wanted to_ scream _and_ beg _and_ hold on and never let go. _He had to be strong, for now. His… his_ friend- _just friend not anything else never anything else- needed him._

 _He wished he’d had the courage to share what was in his heart before, illogical nature of emotions be damned, and now he’d never have the chance and it_ wasn’t fair _._

_“Bunny?” Jack’s voice was faint, almost delirious, “Bunny, you’re warm.”_

_“Yeah, Snowflake, pooka tend to be warm. What with the fur and all.”_

_“Bunny can I- ’m cold.“_

_Aster pulled Jack closer, embracing him flush against his chest, without a second thought._

_“So warm. Thanks Cottontail.”_

_(Apparently Aster could indeed still cry.)_

_Jack’s arms shifted, attempting to wrap around Aster’s waist. When they failed at that they settled for falling into the fur of Aster’s ruff._

_“Bunny?”_

_“Yeah, Snowflake?”_

_“It’s dark, Bunny. I- I’m scared.”_

_Aster swallowed, his grip tightening around the boy in his arms. “It’s alright Snowflake, I’m right here. Nothing’s gonna hurt ‘cha.”_

_“You won’t leave?”_

_“Not on your nelly.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Cross my heart. I’ll stay right here with you. I won’t ever leave you alone again.”_

_“Thanks, Bunny.”_

_Jack shifted in his arms, smiling as he closed his eyes, then lay still._

_“Snowflake?”_

_No answer._

_“Jackie?” Panic began to creep into Aster’s voice as he shifted the bundle in his arms, “Jack, answer me.”_

_Jack stayed silent even as Aster began to shake him more forcefully. His entire being gripped by panic and terror as he tried to get jack to just_ wake up _already._

 _“Jack, p-please_ wake up _. Stay with me, Jack! Y- you still have time you hear me?”_

_And yet it wasn’t meant to be. Before Aster’s eyes Jack’s form shifted slowly into transparency, his heart and core becoming snow and ice. There was nothing he could do, nothing left any of them could do anymore Jack was gone and they should have helped somehow and-_

“JACK!”

* * *

 

Aster woke up screaming, his heart racing and tears matting the fur on his face. He was in his nest. It was just a dream. A horrible, terrible nightmare. It had to be. He’d get up and walk outside into the Warren and Jack would be there to prank him and tease him and everything would _not be fine never fine couldn’t be he’s just an expression and no one believes and he’ll fade and it’s all their fault and-_

Aster was pulled from his thoughts by the slight chill that permeated the air. He sniffed, catching the scent of pine and snow and laughter. Laughter didn’t used to have a smell, he knew, but then he met Jack.

Shrewth, _Jack_.

Aster found himself barreling out of his burrow, already racing through the warren towards the source of the scent. Soon he found his target, his Snowflake, standing in the distance and puzzling over a half-frozen coloring river. Apparently he was heard in his approach, because suddenly the winter spirit was turning and spouting apologies. Surprise became panic as Aster crashed into the winter spirit and gripped him tightly.

Aster didn’t care for apologies right now.

“Hold on Cottontail, I said I was sorry! I swear I didn’t mean to do it this time, it- Bunny?”

Aster could hear Jack still, but only because he was straining his ears to take in every last word as he pressed his muzzle into Jack’s chest and breathed in his scent. Thank the prince with a thousand enemies, Jack was still here. Not faded. Not gone. Never gone. Still here.

Still Alive.

“Bunny, what’s wrong? Come on, let go and tell me what’s gotten your tail all twisted up.”

No, Aster wasn’t going to let go because he _promised_ he was going to stay right here and not leave Jack alone again. He was going to stay here and hold on and never let go because if he did Jack would vanish and he’d be gone forever and Aster didn’t want that to happen.

“I’m not going anywhere, ‘roo.”

Oh, he’d said that out loud.                               

“Yeah, you did. Want to tell me what brought all this on, Cottontail?”

Aster shifted, releasing his grip on the winter spirit and sitting on his haunches beside him. His eyes locked on Jack as the boy sat up, and as the last vestiges of sleep lifted from his mind he realized with a jolt what he’d gotten himself into. His ears immediately flattened in embarrassment, and suddenly he wanted to crawl into the deepest hole he could find. Jack, however, seemed to have other plans. Immediately the winter spirit got himself comfortable in the grass next to Aster, sitting legs crossed and staff to his side. Aster felt rather than saw the hand that slipped into his own. Which was shaking. Rather violently.

If Aster had been human, his entire body would likely be some shade of crimson. Probably was anyway under his fur.

“I’m right here, Bunny.” Jack’s voice was, for the first time in Aster’s memory, not laced with its usual undertone of laughter and joy. Rather, his voice was oddly quiet, mature beyond what it should ever sound like. It reminded Aster of his long-gone older brother, who was always so patient and thoughtful and who let Aster sleep in his half of the nest when he had nightmares as a kit. Immediately Aster relaxed, though he remained embarrassed beyond words. Somehow he knew that what happened here wasn’t going to leave the Warren.

“I…” Aster wasn’t sure how to start, and admitting that he’d had a nightmare to his…rival? He’d be teased about it for months, he was sure. The great E. Aster Bunnymund had a nightmare! Scared and running about like a kit! That was _not_ the kind of ammo he wanted to give to Jack Frost of all people.

Jack sighed, sensing his hesitation. “I won’t make fun of you for being scared by a nightmare, you know.”

Aster honked in surprise, falling backwards and landing on his rear. Jack chuckled at the reaction as Aster tried to form a response through his own sputtering.

“How did you-“

Jack immediately cut him off, however. “It wasn’t hard to figure out, Cottontail,” he explained, his expression falling from amusement to concern in the blink of an eye, “You charged out here half-asleep, babbling nonsense while clinging to me like I was the most precious thing in the world, and the entire time you looked completely terrified.” (Aster silently thanked Jack for not mentioning the tracks of matted fur on his face where tears had obviously fallen.) Jack sighed, his grip on Aster’s own hand tightening. “I won’t pry,” he said, “but if you want to share I’m here to listen.”

The offer was tempting. It had been ages since Aster had felt like he could share his thoughts with anyone, and now one of the few people he felt even marginally comfortable around was offering to listen. He had spent far too long bottling up his problems, maybe now was a chance to start dealing with them properly?

Aster sighed, his decision made as he sat back up. “Y-yeah,” he began, his hesitation and unease glaringly obvious, “It… I have nightmares all the time but, this one? Haven’t had this one in nearly a decade.” Aster paused, taking comfort in the cool grip on his hand, before continuing. “There’s a boy, a mate of mine, maybe my best one. I… I’m holding him, cause he’s hurt and… and he can’t hold himself up anymore. He doesn’t really get what’s going on, he’s too out of it to really understand more than it’s dark and cold and he’s scared, but I do. I knew it was going ta’ happen from the start, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Me and him, we argued a lot, we always did, but I never really wanted him to get hurt and now he… now he’s dying in my arms. I beg for him to stay, to wake up when he finally drifts off, but he fades anyways,” Aster choked over the last words, “I never even get the chance to tell him how much he meant to me.”

Jack’s grip had tightened considerably, and when Aster uttered the last sentence he found himself pulled into a hug. Aster closed his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to blink back the tears from remembering the nightmare. If the boy holding him saw the renewed flood he didn’t mention it, instead staying silent as he allowed the older male to cry, shaking fiercely, into his chest. They remained like that for a while, the only sounds coming from the world around them and, occasionally, Aster himself. Finally, as Aster’s trembling began to lessen in its intensity, Jack broke the silence.

“Didn’t know you cared that much, Bunny.”

Again Aster found himself honking in surprise, the question dancing in his eyes as he pulled away and looked at Jack. The boy looked back, a strange mix of joy and melancholy in his own. “Again, not stupid here Cottontail. Pretty easy to guess that the boy in the nightmare was me when you consider how you were acting when you first came out here.”

That… Aster sighed, he’d outed himself from the start and didn’t even realize it. Averting his gaze, Aster formed his reply. It wouldn’t be the whole truth, he’d probably never tell the _whole_ story, but it was close enough.

“I… I know I haven’t exactly shown it too well, Jackie, but… I _do_ like you. It’s why I was so against you bein’ a Guardian ya know: I knew you didn’t have any believers, and if you became one of us you’d fade out even faster than if you didn’t. There’s a grace period I suppose, but the way your powers work I wasn’t sure if that’d be enough, even if we all helped. It’s a lot easier for people to explain away snow days and frost on the windowsill than it is to explain away what the rest of us do. I’ve been afraid of what would happen to you if you joined us since I realized how good of a guardian you’d be.”

Aster saw Jack shift from the corner of his eye, drawing his attention long enough to see a confused expression on the winter spirit’s face. “How long,” Jack hesitated for a moment as he tried to articulate the question, “How long have you thought I’d make a good Guardian?”

Aster smiled at the memory as he looked back to that day over forty years prior. The answer came almost too easy after so many years of pretending to be angry about it, “Since ’68.”

Jack started, looking surprised, “I always thought you hated me for that!”

Aster chuckled, pulling Jack close again. “Just pretended I did so you’d avoid us. Was mad at first sure, but when I saw how happy you’d made those kids I realized that you were just trying to help. I decided pretty quickly that if anyone got a close look at you they’d insist on you being a Guardian. Hell, the egg hunts in those areas you dropped snow on went even better than usual; the belief spike that hit me that day felt like a punch in the gut. At first I wanted to bring you back and introduce you to everyone, but…”

Jack didn’t miss a beat, filling in the blank as soon as Aster trailed off, “You saw a kid walk though me, I’m guessing.”

Aster heaved another sighed, “Not a single one of them gave so much as a passing thought to Jack Frost, and from how you reacted I guessed that you were _used_ to it.” Aster shivered, he still remembered getting walked through last Easter when Pitch attacked. That feeling of being so totally empty and incorporeal that you question your very existence had a way of messing with your head, overriding all rational thought. Frankly, he was surprised Jack had managed to keep his sanity all these years if he’d somehow managed to become _used_ to that feeling. Jack seemed to know what he was thinking, too, considering how tightly he was hugging him. “After that I looked into you a bit closer, and found out that you didn’t have a single believer the world over. You’ve no idea how much I wanted to go talk to you, but spirits without believers tend to fade pretty fast and…”

Again, Jack filled in where Aster found himself unable to continue, “You didn’t want to get close to someone who was more than likely going to fade away as soon as you befriended them.” To his credit, Jack didn’t look angry about it, understanding was drawn across his face. Jack’s understanding, however, seemed to hurt much more than his anger would have. Aster immediately tried to pull away, guilt clawing at his conscience, but Jack refused to allow it. The boy clung to him, preventing the older male from leaving. After a moment of struggling, Aster fell back onto the grass in defeat.

The boy next to him laughed, loosening his grip and shifting to lean against his side. “It’s alright, Bunny. The past is the past, can’t change what’s already happened. What matters is right now, and right now we _are_ friends. I don’t know about you, Cottontail, but I don’t plan on fading anytime soon. I actually came over to tell you that I got some new believers, Word’s spreading pretty quickly now that the belief train’s started.”

Jack’s hand wandered up to Aster’s ruff, and began to card through the fur there. “So chin up ‘ya sadsack,’” the words were voiced in the worst Australian accent Aster had ever heard, “I’m gonna be here to annoy you for a long, long time.”

The corners of Aster’s mouth turned upward, and he allowed his arm to swing around Jack. Jack laughed and settled in, ready to stay for as long as needed. The thought was very much appreciated. All the serious talk aside, it was nice to be this close to Jack. Even if the kid never knew how deeply the pooka’s feelings for him ran, this would be good enough. Aster realized too late that his teeth had begun to grind together.

“Are you _purring_?”

Aster immediately froze, ears falling flat against his head. He sheepishly glared down at Jack’s smirking face. Aster took all of two seconds to think about how he could get out of that question when he decided that he’d already confessed more than he ever thought he would to the kid, and that it didn’t get much more embarrassing than it already was. “I- uh- well… maybe?”

Jack’s smirk softened again at the reaction, and he shifted closer to Aster’s chest. “S’alright, ‘Roo, I won’t tell anyone.” At Aster’s sigh of relief, the winter spirit chuckled, “’Course, I’m obligated to mock you about it as often as I can since I can only do so when no one else is around.”

“Oh rack off, Frostbite.”

They stayed like that for a while, pressed up against each other in the soft grass of the warren. Aster found himself feeling tired again, and as his eyelids dropped he nuzzled Jack’s hair and murmured a sleepy, “love you, Snowflake,” without realizing it. The boy next to him stiffened for an instant, before pressing in even closer. Aster vaguely registered something brushing against his cheek.

“Love you too, Cottontail.”

And when Aster finally drifted off, there were no nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> First fan-fic I've ever posted, really. Hopefully it's decent enough, especially since I didn't really have anyone to check it for mistakes. I appreciate reviews, advice, and anyone who points out an error I missed when I checked it over.
> 
> Thanks!


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